Chapter 41 Jade Rabbit has a new neighbor as a guest and invitation

I haven't been to the store for a long time. Last night I heard Elizabeth say that the Tzu Chi Pharmacy business has been as good as usual recently, but the Oriental Alice Pharmacy on Bond Street, which I asked her to take good care of, has plummeted in business. Even the cooperating merchants from other countries have learned about the farce in front of the store from somewhere and have become cautious. The number of cooperation contracts has hardly increased.

The stores that had previously signed exclusive sales contracts rarely came to purchase new stock. The Refreshing and Rejuvenating Creams she had specially produced before entering the palace had barely been consumed. Only the Earl of Finsbury's pharmacy had come to collect them once, but they subsequently stopped selling them due to a lack of sales, and only purchased medicines specially supplied by Tzu Chi Tang Pharmacy.

She planned to go and take a look.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw a familiar gentleman pushing the door open and coming out from the next room.

Huh? It's clearly a house for rent, so why did I hear pacing in the hallway next door just now?

"Mr. Adrian?" Alice called out the man's name. She was surprised for a moment, but then she understood. "You moved here?"

"Well, I recently rented this townhouse," the man said vaguely, then extended an invitation, "Miss Alice, would you like to come in and take a look?"

"Okay." Then let her see the new home of the man who specially made her his neighbor.

Adrian Moran welcomed her into the house and showed her into the sitting room, which was not as untended as the rectory next to St. George's Church.

There wasn't a speck of dust in the living room. Brightly colored flowers were placed on various pieces of furniture, filling the room with a delicate fragrance.

The sofa was covered in fine velvet, and the low table was decorated with seasonal fruits and delicately shaped desserts. The tea was still steaming, served with exquisite tea sets.

"The new place looks really different." Alice saw the man's intentions, but couldn't help teasing him.

"Yeah." He understood the meaning of the words and did not refute them. He only added, "It's time to change."

This townhouse seemed to be completely open to her. No matter where she went, the owner would just follow her and introduce her to everyone. Although he still didn't talk much, his attitude was now more proactive than before.

The owner seemed determined not to receive visitors. There were no guest rooms on the second floor of the townhouse, and only the largest room was used as a studio. Inside, there were many newly painted oil paintings, the paint still wet. There were scenes of the English countryside and London streets, depicting both still life and dynamic stories. The artist's skill and aesthetic were evident, but Alice, having seen his paintings in Bath, didn't find them surprising and walked briskly up to the third floor.

Passing the familiar study and an unused room, she, who had never been to this house before, seemed to have clairvoyance and saw her destination in advance, and headed straight for the room on the far left.

Sure enough, the room next to her bedroom was where her husband lived, a new bedroom that shared a wall with her.

On that shared wall hung a unique painting, one she had never seen before, yet unlike the paintings downstairs. It was hard to tell what deep emotion the artist had imbued in the painting, but the white rabbit seemed to come alive. And for some reason, they had placed her original form alongside a cliff rose.

But Alice liked it very much. She thought the painting captured her majesty. Every strand of rabbit hair was shiny and strong, and she looked energetic and vibrant.

Just as she was about to praise herself, Alice heard the voice of a servant downstairs, calling for the man she had ordered to harness the carriage. As the man led the carriage from the backyard to the door, Adrian Moran also heard the voice.

He looked over. Alice said goodbye to him: "I'm going to the store."

The man walked her out, his blue eyes, stained with sullen color, fixed on her. He simply said, "Miss Alice, we are neighbors. You can come over anytime."

Alice accepted this gesture of goodwill and drove away in a carriage.

After obtaining the most direct information from the Bond Street Pharmacy and two or three nearby Tzu Chi Pharmacies, Alice returned to her house in the evening.

She took off the red cloak and hung it on the hanger, only to notice the black cloak that had been hanging there for a long time, which was out of tune with the brightly colored clothes in the room that she loved to wear.

Did he forget to take his cloak? Or...?

Sure enough, from that day on, she always saw this gentleman in various places.

The next day she came to get the cloak and sat in her house for a long time. Jane and Elizabeth were not at home, and Lydia was asleep. Only Mary and Catherine were with her to receive the new neighbors.

After Alice formally introduced the two parties, the scene fell silent for a moment. Mary adjusted her glasses and took the initiative to greet him, "Mr. Adrian, please take a seat."

The man nodded and sat down in silence.

Alice looked at him maliciously, as he tried to impress her family but failed, and did not come to his rescue.

"Sir, I met you at the Thames Frost Fair. Are you pursuing Alyssa?" Catherine instinctively felt that this would not anger the gentleman on the sofa who looked more serious and cold than Darcy.

"You're not wrong." The man was stunned for only a second, as if he didn't expect Alice's family to ask directly, but he still admitted it.

"So why are you visiting us today?" Mary asked directly to the point.

"Before, on the ice of the Thames, I once... lent Miss Alice a cloak and planned to take it back." The man stated his reason.

"Are you really going to take that torn dress back?" Lydia, who was awakened by the conversation downstairs, changed her clothes casually and went downstairs without tying her hair.

Alice had sent a servant to her chamber to take down the black cloak.

Lydia had just sat down in the living room when she continued her shocking remarks: "This kind of old-fashioned man's tactics are outdated."

As she spoke, she looked at the man and suddenly remembered that he was the priest who had led people to her. She complained, "Forget it, it's normal for you priests to be so old-fashioned and use old-fashioned methods. At least it's not as annoying as Cousin Collins's old-fashioned compliments."

The man was speechless. He opened his mouth but didn't know how to answer, so he just shut up.

Unexpectedly, Alice’s youngest sister still didn’t let him go, and said affirmatively: “Then you are here to please Alyssa today, and please us by the way.”

Lydia's face was full of expression that said, "Show us how you please me. I want to see how you please Alice."

"Pfft..." Alice didn't give the poor gentleman any face at all and laughed out loud.

Finally, the gentleman took the cloak taken down by the servant and fled. I'm afraid he decided not to visit the house again in the short term when so many sisters were staying at home.

The next day, early in the morning, Alice lazily walked to the balcony to stretch her body.

She noticed something and turned around to see a man in a dressing gown painting on the balcony. His golden hair looked even more beautiful in the sunlight.

The man had clearly noticed her presence, but his eyes seemed glued to the canvas, not looking back. He sat upright, his hand holding the brush still not touching the canvas.

Her ears were blood-red, making her jade-smooth neck appear even paler. Her cold, pale skin was softly shone in the warm sun, but her expression remained as cold and serious as ever.

It looked like he was going to play it safe. He'd already given in, and I'd been gone for over a month, sort of repaying his sudden departure, but he still hadn't said anything in front of me. I didn't know what he was waiting for.

However, his clumsy and flattering appearance these days has its own unique charm, so it’s not a bad idea to wait patiently for two more days.

After feasting her eyes, Alice slowly walked back into the room and went to have breakfast with Elizabeth and the others.

Seeing this, the man sighed softly. Never mind. He really couldn't do this.

He straightened the slightly open collar and carefully buttoned the top button again.

I don’t know where John gets his books, they are all very strange.

Two days later, he went to Oriental Alice Pharmacy to deliver flowers again.

It was a bunch of small white bell-shaped flowers, which looked quite cute and pleasing.

"Miss Alice, I saw this when I was out painting and collecting materials. I've never seen it on the street, but I think it's a flower you'll like." As he said this, he put the flowers in a vase beside him and moved it to Alice's hand.

Before he could utter the next sentence, he suddenly felt dizzy and passed out.

Alice caught the man and sighed silently, "No one's selling it on the street, so there must be a reason for not selling it. Hasn't it ever occurred to you that it might be poisonous?"

But the man seemed to be dependent on her. Recently, he came to her pharmacy every day under the banner of detoxification and treatment.

The king did not break his promise. A few days after she left the palace, he and the queen went to Oriental Alice Pharmacy in person to endorse her and help restore the pharmacy's reputation.

George III's friendly and people-loving performance, as well as his positive praise for the Oriental Alice Pharmacy, rekindled the crowd's trust in the store's hair-strengthening and rejuvenating cream and other products, quickly restored the reputation of the pharmacy, which had seen a sharp decline in business, and gave it a chance to return to its former popularity, or even better, from being rejected by the public.

Before leaving, the Queen glanced at the man beside her and said with a smile, "No wonder Miss Alice is not very interested in those things in the palace. When it comes to appearance, she is naturally no match for this man from the Moran family."

"This week, I'll be gathering some attractive young people under the guise of matchmaking to hold a masquerade ball to celebrate His Majesty's complete and complete recovery. Miss Alice, you've been a great contributor, so you can't be absent," the Queen said to Alice. "Any unmarried ladies of the Bennet family may also come. Formal invitations will be sent soon."

She did not shy away from the gentleman who was obviously Alice's appendage, and also extended an invitation to Adrian Moran, who looked somewhat concerned: "Mr. Moran, come too."

The gentleman who accepted the invitation had never attended such a special ball before. He stared at John, who had never seen such a ball before, and at the suggestion of the servant, decided to seek help from his mother.

When she arrived at the old house, she was scolded by the old Countess of Camden before she could get any advice on her ball attire.

"Ed, I haven't even come to you yet, but you've come to me!" The old lady was not at all happy with her youngest son and asked, "Are you really going to resign as Rector of Soho Parish?!"